ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: lean · board · present · game · wax · cold · chest · jam

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. game — wild animals
  7. present — the time now
  8. board — to get on
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. chest — of your body
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cold — an illness
  17. present — there
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. lean — thin
  20. chest — a box
  21. lean — to bend
  22. board — a committee
  23. cold — not warm
  24. chest — of your body

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com